CHIMNEYS, DISINFECTING POWDER, AND THE INDIAN MUTINY
LIEBIG, Justus von.
Autograph letter, signed, to an unnamed English nobleman.
Munich, 10 December 1857.
8vo bifolium (221 x 137 mm), pp. [2], 18 and 19 lines written in English and German; sometime folded; some foxing, pencil notes in a different hand on the verso of the second leaf and in upper margin of recto of first leaf.
A fine letter from Justus von Liebig to an unnamed English nobleman.
Addressed to ‘My Lord’, and with an opening sentence in English before it continues in German, the letter discusses three distinct topics: heating and air circulation in living rooms, the benefits of Douglas’s Disinfecting Powder, and Liebig’s response to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. He begins by acquiescing to his correspondent’s desire for charcoal, but warns him that he should not forget the importance of chimneys for air circulation in England, which differentiate the living rooms in England from the warmer but much stuffier living rooms in Germany. Next, Liebig gives his backing to the beneficial qualities of Douglas’s Disinfecting Powder, which he claims is built on sound scientific principles. He notes that in Germany the variant is made with sulphite of lime, rather than magnesia. Finally, Liebig gives his opinion on the 1857 Indian Mutiny: he agrees with his correspondent that the English went too far in their retaliation, but also states that he who raises arms against the English cannot expect to be shown any mercy.
